Tesla has done it again. Financials for the fourth quarter of 2013, released this week, show record sales, growing revenue and dwindling net losses. Wall Street dug it. TSLA stock has broken out past the $200 mark and set a new all-time high. By the way, the stock market utterly ignored last week’s report of… Read more »
BMW and its partner, the SGL Group, plan to invest more than €100 million ($137 million) to double their joint production of carbon fiber to 6,000 metric tons a year, according to German news outlet Handelsblatt. BMW’s new i3 and i8 plug-ins make greater use of lightweight, super-strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) than any… Read more »
Volkswagen Group France has signed a partnership agreement with the Société Nouvelle d’Affinage des Métaux (SNAM) that covers recycling of hybrid and EV batteries from the group’s brands – VW, Audi, SEAT and Škoda. SNAM (a subsidiary of the Floridienne Group) will be responsible for collecting both NiMH and Li-ion batteries from electric and hybrid… Read more »
Echo Automotive, a developer of aftermarket plug-in hybrid powertrains, plans to extend its EchoDrive system to GM 2500 and 3500 vans, including the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, model years 2010-2014. EchoDrive is already available for Ford E-Series vans – orders are currently being accepted and production is scheduled to begin later this year. Production… Read more »
Volkswagen’s new e-Golf is now on sale in Germany at a price of €34,900 ($47,833.94). It joins the smaller e-Up! which is already at dealerships in several European markets. The Golf is indisputably the most successful European car of all time, with over 30 million sold. If VW is serious about selling the electric version,… Read more »
The big buzz on the EV tech scene these days is about silicon anodes, which could offer ten times more storage capacity than carbon anodes. Scientists around the world are looking for ways to overcome the remaining obstacles to using silicon for a new generation of lithium-ion batteries. Researchers at Stanford University and the DOE’s… Read more »
London’s second-largest minicab operator has pulled the plug on a plan to put 50 electric taxis into service in the capital. Green Tomato Cars, which already operates a fleet of 500 Prius hybrids, signed a deal with Chinese EV maker BYD in 2012 to purchase 50 of BYD’s E6 EVs. Alas, this week Green Tomato… Read more »
According to IHS Automotive, EV sales are about to take off like a Model S on a freeway onramp. The research firm predicts that worldwide production of plug-ins will soar to more than 403,000 in 2014, a 67% increase. The Europe, Middle East and Africa region will account for the largest share of production at… Read more »
Vehicle-grid integration is one of the hottest topics in the EV world, with pilot projects cropping up all over the globe. The relationship between EVs and the electrical grid is complex – charging must be managed to avoid overloading local grids, but on the other hand, EVs and/or used EV batteries can help utilities to… Read more »
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has developed a prototype EV motor drive system with a built-in silicon-carbide inverter that it claims is the smallest of its kind. As EVs require large spaces to accommodate their battery systems, Mitsubishi sees a strong need to reduce the size and weight of motor systems to leave a decent amount of… Read more »
